The Jungle
by LostinOblivion
Summary: The stronger the love was, the strong the hate will be. An angry shouting match, a painful breakup, a transfer request, and a year later, they're thrown together again. FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1

Emily had reached a new low. This became uncomfortably clear to her as she lay there on a bed she'd never seen before this night, beneath a man she'd met an hour ago. His tongue lay limply in her mouth, and he his idea of foreplay was thrusting at her through their clothes. He got her bra off after a brief struggle and made contact with her breasts. But through it all Emily just lay there, moving her body with his rhythm, but little else. She was so bored her mind actually drifted off, wondering if it was normal to be this bored under the circumstances.

Suddenly she became disgusted with herself. She was not prepared to degrade herself quite this much yet. Yeah, yet. She'd been in Sacramento for just over a year, and had nothing more than one-night stands in the whole time. She and Matt had broken up a year and two months ago to the day, and it hurt worse than she could ever have imagined. So she was in this place, trying to forget his face for the thousandth time, always failing miserably.

Leaning up and pushing her companion off her, she put her bra back on, and pulled her shirt on, feeding him some lame excuse before taking off. She drove around for a short while, her disgust turning to anger at herself. How the hell had she gotten to this place? Having sex with any chauvinistic idiot that was there on those nights where she just couldn't bear to go home, alone. But really she knew exactly how she'd gotten here. She remembered every detail about it all too well.

It started with a case like any other day. A man had seven adults and ten children hostage in a small clothing store where Matt and Emily were quickly dispatched. It had been a disastrous negotiation from the get-go; everything had seemed to go wrong. So when they heard multiple shots, Cheryl immediately sent HRT to apprehend the HT. They were too late, eight people died before the ambulances got there.

Matt and Emily ended up back at the CNU, staring blankly at the wall, waiting to get pink slips. Cheryl found them and told them that there would be an investigation of the incident, and that their relationship would probably be attacked. Then she'd left them to deal with the guilt and depression on their own. They started talking about their relationship and it quickly turned into and argument.

They blamed each other for the deaths, they blamed themselves, and they blamed their relationship. The argument disintegrated into a bitching match, and screaming at that point, they moved into an abandoned conference room. They began flinging everything that they had at each other, even going so far as to blatantly lie, knowing how to inflict as much hurt as possible. They were angry, guilt-ridden, and horribly nasty to each other.

The next morning Emily dropped off a new partner request and a request for a transfer, and less than an hour later Matt dropped off his own new partner request. Cheryl was left overwhelmed and confused, as like everyone else, she hadn't heard the end of their argument. She had no choice but to accept their requests, and a week later Emily was on her way to Sacramento. And both partners were left with broken hearts, and wounds so deep they would likely never fully heal.

---

While Emily had tried the screw anything that moves method, Matt went the opposite direction, and tried actually dating any woman that was interested. Being that Matt was good-looking, funny, and at least used to be sweet (a certain bitterness had descended), most women were willing after the first date. This quickly proved to be worse than if none had been.

He was dating with a purpose now, hell he was dating with a vengeance, determined to prove to himself and everyone else that he didn't need _her_. He didn't talk about her, hadn't since she left, and had no intention of ever doing so again. Whenever her name came up, he would either extract himself from the conversation, try to steer it in another direction, or if it was work-related, wait for the subject to change without making a single comment.

Now he sat at home alone, watching some ancient, and incredibly cheesy horror, sci-fi movie on his television. He had just broken up with Valerie, a tall, thin, blonde accountant, whose only talents proved to be with numbers. She couldn't hold a conversation for more than ten minutes, and they had absolutely no chemistry in the bedroom. Of course this didn't stop Matt from dating her for two months. Tonight he'd finally gotten fed up and just ended it, and fortunately she didn't seem that upset.

She was the fourth woman he'd 'dated' since Emily moved to Sacramento. The first had been Sasha, a gorgeous model who smiled and very little else. Because of some decent sex, and how gorgeous she was, that lasted four months. The second was Suzie who could hold a conversation, but only if she was talking about stocks and speaking at 100 words a minute. Even sex with her was quick. That lasted only a month. Then there was Noelle, who wasn't particularly beautiful, but who he'd gotten along well with. They had a genuinely good time on their dates, but after three months, she'd run a hand along his cheek, looked deep into his eyes, and told him that she wasn't who he wanted to be with. She'd walked out of his life with a sad smile.

That was why Matt really did this. He was desperately trying to convince himself that he didn't love her anymore, that his heart didn't ache when he saw her half of the bed empty, or occupied by some other woman. He was trying to force himself to fall in love with someone else, hoping he could forget her after that.

--

Cheryl was not happy as she stormed down the hallway toward the classroom where she been teaching shortly after Emily left. She'd caught two of her students, who both wanted to be negotiators, kissing and flirting that morning in the parking lot. Obviously they'd come in together. Now she stormed into the classroom, tossed down the training manual her ex-subordinate and friend (Emily had barely spoken to any of them after she left), and stood gazing angrily at her class.

"Alright everybody, today class is going to be a little different. I'm going to tell you a story that you won't find in any training manuals, and you all better listen real close," she said, looking pointedly at the trainees that she'd caught that morning.

"Not too long ago I had two of the Bureau's best negotiators teamed up right here in L.A. They were one of the most successful teams the FBI is ever likely to see, and they were good friends of mine. They had talent, experience, and empathy, and they were who I called in when we had a real problem," she paused. Some of the crowd knew who she was talking about, but many of the newer ones didn't.

"They were partnered for a year before he accidentally announced to the world that they'd been sleeping together for months. After assuring me that it had ended and that they understood the severity of their actions, they didn't see each romantically for two weeks. Then they came into my office and told me that they wanted to give it a go, see where this relationship took them. I agreed to allow them, both because I didn't want to lose a great team like that, and because they were friends. They promised me it wouldn't interfere with their work."

"Wait, you actually let them stay together?" A young male agent asked stunned.

"Yes, I did."

"And how did that work out?" An older transfer from Vegas, who didn't know Matt and Emily asked.

"They were together for about another year and a half. At that point we were called to a crisis involving 17 hostages, ten of whom were young kids. One thing after another began going wrong, and when we heard a gun being discharged I sent HRT in, but we were too late. We lost eight hostages that day," she paused remembering how awful it had been for all of them. Her students were looking back at her with somber or stunned expressions.

"I didn't yell at them, didn't chastise them, just warned them that their actions and their relationship would come under scrutiny as that day was investigated. Truth be told, it wasn't their fault, and they were completely professional during the negotiation, as they always were."

"Then what the hell happened?" the Vegas transfer demanded.

"Everything went wrong that day. Equipment wasn't working properly, tactical couldn't get a good shot, the HT kept hanging up, the hostages were screaming and putting him on edge, and these negotiators tried everything, even when one wasn't convinced it would work. Not of that mattered though. They had a screaming match in the CNU after it was over, and the next morning I was handed two requests for new partners and a transfer request. I never really got the story on what they said to each other, but I got the feeling that whatever it was it was very ugly."

"So why are you telling us this story?" the younger agent asked

"Why? I understand that two of the agents in this room are engaged in their own happy little relationship. "Relationships with your coworkers do not end well. Granted they don't usually fall to hell quite like this one, but they never last, and somebody is always left hurt. Don't do it. Don't even consider it. If you find you're attracted to a coworker- get the hell over it. I don't want to see it in this office."

"If I ever find out that any of you are involved with your coworkers, I will split you apart so fast you won't know what hit you. One of you will be sent to Wyoming where you'll spend the next decade investigating fertilizer purchases, and the other will stay here, where you'll spend the next decade under my constant scrutiny. Does everybody follow that?"

Heads nodded, people squirmed and fidgeted in their seats, unaccustomed to Cheryl's wrath. Satisfied that she'd scared them sufficiently, Cheryl ended the lesson, and walked out, on her way now to open the festering wound of one of those agents.

Ten minutes later, she pulled a confused Matt into her office, word had already traveled of Cheryl's little talk with her class.

"So, we're a cautionary tale now?" He asked, unhappy to have that brought up.

"You made your bed, now you get to lie in it." She told him, in no mood to hear him whine or complain.

"Fine, I've dealt with it. What do you need me for?"

_You've dealt with it my ass_, Cheryl thought, "You need to be on a plane tonight to Sacramento." _Here it comes._

"Excuse me?" he asked clearly in disbelief.

"I need you help Agent Mark Bronson, and…her with a case."

"Did I do something to piss you off, Cheryl?"

"No Matt, I don't have a choice. They got wind that Larry Baker is in the area, you remember him? He got out of the psych hospital a couple of months ago, and they are already hearing that he's planning something again in Sacramento."

"Jesus Cheryl, you can't get anybody else. Please, do not make me do this," he pled with her.

"I'm sorry Matt, but you know this guy, you talked him down before, they really need your help up there," she explained, looking at him sympathetically.

"I guess I down really have a choice?" He spit angrily.

"No." She told him sadly. She didn't want to do this to him, but she didn't have a choice.

"Fine, then I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off."

"Good, call me when you get there."

"Sure." He turned to the door, and was pulled it open, about to walk out when her voice stopped him.

"And Matt?"

"Yeah?" he turned back to her.

"If you need to, you know you can call me to just talk."

"Thanks," he answered before walking out the door.

--

Seven hours later he was still waiting for his flight to take off, it was delayed an hour and a half, at a quarter to nine, and he was growing angrier by the minute.

"Attention Ladies and Gentlemen, Flight 308 to Sacramento is now ready to board, we apologize for the delay and any inconveniences it caused you.," the loud speaker finally gave permission to catch his flight.

He'd called ahead to Sacramento earlier to let them know it was delayed, and the very nice receptionist informed him not worry, that she'd inform Agents Bronson and Lehman, and one of them would be there to collect him when his flight actually did land. Yes, that was exactly what he wanted, to be greeted by _her_ at the airport; he better begin steeling himself now.

--

Matt had no luggage to pick up, just his carry on; he wasn't staying a minute longer than he had to, and certainly not long enough to need luggage. He looked around the airport uncomfortably, not sure what to expect, would he see Emily? Or would Agent Bronson be waiting with his badge hanging out to announce his identity? Or should he be looking for a cardboard sign that read Agent Flannery? His answer came quicker than he wanted it.

"Hi, Matt," she greeted, clearly as displeased with the circumstances as he was.

"Hi…" He said awkwardly.

"Let's go, car's at a meter," she simply stated, heading toward the exit, not bothering to turn and see if he was following.

The drive was excruciatingly quiet, as both tried uncomfortably to ignores the other's presence. It was a toss up who was more pissed at being thrust together after over a year apart, and a miserable break-up before that. Though judging by how far over the speed limit Emily was going, one might argue it was her. 85 in a 55 wasn't her usual style.

But, Emily didn't care how fast she was going, and truth be told, she got some twisted pleasure out of watching Matt grip the armrest on the door. When her new boss had informed her who was coming to help them on there case, she had to hide her feelings. She didn't get to be angry or hurt, didn't get to argue with her boss, and sure as hell didn't get any sympathy. They didn't know she'd been dating Matt, in fact no one at the office knew much about her reasons for transfer. All they knew was not to ask her about it, ever.

So, she was understandably furious that his flight had been delayed, and that meant her partner couldn't pick him up- his babysitter had to get home to do school work. Emily got stuck picking her ex up from the airport, and driving him to his hotel, so she was going to do this happy chore as fast as she could. If all she had to do was break the speed limit to make it go faster, than she was more than willing.

"Uh, being that we were forced together like this, should we maybe have a conversation about being civil to each other over the next couple days?" Matt grimaced, as Emily changed lanes, a bit too fast for him.

"I can be civil if you can," she assured him, craning her neck to see beyond the giant van in front of her.

"So we both act civil to each other, make no mention of the past, and this goes quick right?" He said encouragingly, for both their benefits.

"Sounds good to me."

"Great, so since we're being civil, you don't really want to see me wet my pants, so can we maybe start with you slowing down a little?" he said, begging a little.

Struggling not to smile, Emily eased off the gas a little. He was still the same Matt that could make her laugh no matter how angry she was. But, she couldn't go there anymore, so she bit her lip, mentally berating herself for going there again, even if it was only for a moment.

"Thanks," he said, releasing the breath he'd been holding.

Twenty minutes later, they'd gotten to the hotel, and into an argument with the concierge.

"I'm sorry sir, but you missed check, we gave your room away. But, we have people checking out tomorrow, you can have one of those rooms tomorrow."

"Yes, that's great for tomorrow, but I need a room tonight," Matt begged him.

"I'm sorry there isn't anything I can do."

"You don't seem to understand, that I need that room." Matt said, anger tingeing his voice.

"And, you don't seem to understand, that I can't give it to you." He was beginning to get annoyed.

"Damn it, man I need a room!"

"And I can't get you one. Why don't you just stay with your lady friend for the night, I'm sure she has a couch." He suggested, gesturing to Emily, who was waiting bored, until he snapped her out of her thoughts.

"She doesn't want me staying with her, trust me." Matt assured him.

"Really? I couldn't imagine why." The concierge remarked sarcastically.

Matt glared at him, before walking away, Emily following.

"He's right Matt, I have a spare bedroom, just stay at my place for the night," She told him once they got to the car, cringing inwardly as she did so. _That is such a horrendously bad idea._

"No, there's got to be another hotel somewhere."

"I'm sure there is, but do you really want to spend the rest of the night looking for it?" She asked, annoyed that this had already taken so long.

"No…fine, let's go to your place," he said grudgingly, knowing neither of them really wanted to do that, but if they were going to get any sleep they didn't have a choice.

* * *

So, I decided that if I don't just start posting some of the stories wallowing on my hard drive, their never going to get finished; what can I say, nothing drives me to post like knowing people are actually reading it. And, this one was inspired by an unfortunate tyrst with a frat boy; yes, yes, I know better... Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. Oh, and there's a pretty decent chance this one might get an M rating in the future.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Sorry for the delay, I can't really upload anything right now, is being strange. I had to get creative to get these posted, and I, for a variety of reasons, won't be able to replicate that creativity again, so I don't know when or if (lets hope not) there will be another post. With that...

**WARNING: **I changed this to an M rating for a reason, so if you're a kid please hit the back button. This chapter gets a little dark, and a little graphic, so please heed the warning if you too young.

* * *

The rest of the car ride to Emily's apartment was in biting silence, both feeling like if they spoke they'd be thrust back a year, and fall into that argument again. And Emily's foot was back on the gas without mercy. Neither wanted to got back there, neither wanted to hear what the other said to them, and feel that hurt again. They remained in that hostile silence until they reached Emily's apartment building, and when they rode up in the elevator, Emily finally breaking when they actually got into her apartment.

"You can stay here tonight," she said walking through the hallway passed the living room and kitchen, and pointing the first door they came to. "The bathroom is at the end of the hall, there's clean towels in the closest in there, and help yourself to the kitchen."

He didn't get a chance to thank her, as she hurried into her own room, closing the door tightly behind her. Matt shook his head trying to process the layout she'd just pointed out. Sighing he grabbed his toiletries and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. This would be interesting, being that they both burned with aggression and resentment directed point blank at each other.

Then he saw a small bottle in a basket in the corner of the counter. The itty bitty, bottle read L'heure Bleu, a name he'd never forget, and that you couldn't find in the states. He figured that out two years ago when he went searching for it for Emily's birthday, as it was her favorite. Every clerk he talked to had looked at him blankly when he said the name, until one pimply-faced teen finally told him to try the internet. He'd pulled an all-nighter and finally ended up on Ebay, where he found about eight different varieties of the stuff. One seller had actually carried the pure perfume, no eau de whatevers, and he bought the stuff in a heartbeat.

Now he held the tiny bottle in his hand and breathed in the scent that had become so well know to him. He momentarily drifted back in time, where he could imagine them together. He could almost hear them laughing, feel her body pressed against his, and taste her lips. Then he shook himself; he couldn't go there. That was dangerous territory. He quickly hurried from the bathroom, knowing he wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.

Emily meanwhile, had sunk to the floor as soon as she closed the door, her mind racing. A man that she'd never stopped loving was staying in her apartment for the night, sleeping across the hall, using her shower. Her brained yelled at her to keep those thoughts away, that she couldn't afford them, not after everything that happened between them. She sat on the floor her mind chasing her thoughts in pointless circles, until she heard the door across the hall shut. Then she got up to brush her own teeth, almost squeezing Neosporin on her tooth brush in her distraction.

After narrowly missing having to poison control, she crawled into her bed and shut the light off. Sleep wouldn't be coming soon, she knew that, but she figured she was better off laying restlessly in bed, lest she cause herself more damage. Of course that knowledge didn't make sleep come any easier. Flipping from her side, to her back, to her stomach, to her other side, nothing was working, and it was beginning to get late. She gave in and let her mind go where it wanted to, back to Matt, back to L.A., and back into his arms, finally drifting off.

Two hours later, she was woken by a thud and a poorly masked curse, and at first she startled, wondering who was in her apartment. Then she remembered why she hadn't gotten to sleep until two hours before, judging by her clock that taunted her with red letters blazing in the dark: 3:37. Grudgingly, she crawled out of bed and left her bedroom, flicking on the hall light to find Matt in her kitchen, holding an empty glass, and clutching his arm, hissing in pain.

"It's three thirty in the morning, what are you doing?" She demanded.

"I uh, needed a drink," he stumbled, raising the glass as his proof.

"What did you do to your arm?"

"I walked into the fridge, slammed my arm into the handle," he answered sheepishly.

"Let me see it." She walked up and took his arm from him, pushing his t-shirt sleeve up slightly.

"It's fine, I'm just going to have a bruise."

She nodded and left his arm drop, "next time turn the light on."

"I didn't want to wake you," he defended.

"That worked so well," she said sarcastically.

"Sorry…do you have any aspirin or Tylenol or something?" he asked wincing slightly.

"Yeah, let me get it." She nodded sympathetically, and left to go to the bathroom, coming back moments later with a bottle of Advil. She felt suddenly nervous being near him, now that she was fully awake, and evidently Matt felt the same, because he dropped the bottle after clumsily trying to take it from her hand.

They both leaned down to pick up the bottle, though he got to it first. They seemingly hadn't realized how close they'd gotten to each other, because as they went to stand, Emily's hip rubbed against Matt. They looked unsteadily at each other, fire radiating through both from just that touch. That was it that was all it took.

He dropped the pill bottle and grabbed her, pushing her up against the nearby wall, and capturing her mouth in an angry kiss. After a stunned minute she reciprocated, bother pushing all, the not only love they had for each other, but also the fear, pain, and anger. It wasn't the passionate and loving kisses they used to share, but one that was predatory and hostile.

"We can't go here," Emily breathed out, after they'd broken the kiss and Matt had moved to her neck.

"No, we can't," he answered in between kisses.

"We should stop," she told him, even as she directed his lips back to her mouth.

"We can't do this," he agreed, running his hands under her shirt, along her abdomen.

"We have to stop," she said the same time her hand reached into his boxers.

Matt moaned into her mouth, as they both began struggling to remove clothing. He ran his hands under her camisole before pulling over her head, and allowing her to do the same with his t-shirt; buttons wouldn't have survived them. Teasing him again, Emily worked his boxers down roughly, and Matt reciprocated, yanking her shorts down just as harshly, stopping only a moment to excite her with his hand, before her underwear followed.

He grabbed her wrists and slammed them behind her against the wall, before kissing her neck, and beginning to thrust into her. Emily moaned loudly, in pleasure, in pain, who knew at that point. Dropping her arms, Matt braced himself against he wall with his arms, continuing to thrust violently, while she wrapped her arms around him, digging her nails into his back, and holding firmly to him, as her back slammed against the wall.

Matt gasped at the contact her nails made in his flesh. As their rhythm increased, Emily gripped him tighter, smashing her mouth against his, in a furious kiss. The speed of their thrusting increased rapidly, until their bodies shook and quivered with all the force of their simultaneous orgasm. He moaned loudly at the release, as she emitted a primal scream of satisfaction.

Then they rested against the wall, still wrapped tightly around each other, hearts beating rapidly, breathing ragged and irregular, and bodies shimmering with sweat. After a few moments of letting their beating heats slow, they pulled away from the wall, and made their way to his bedroom, since it was closest. They climbed into the bed, and Matt did what he'd done so many times before, he rolled onto his side facing her, and wrapped an arm over her waist. Emily played her part, just as he had, also turning on her side, scooting closer to him, and pulling his arm tighter around her, and holding in with her own. Ignoring everything they shouldn't be, their exhausted bodies turned their minds off, and allowed them to drift into sleep.

----------

The next morning Matt awoke to find Emily already in the shower, and the clothes he torn off last night in a pile by the bed. He hurriedly got them on, his mind racing with what they'd done last night. He hissed in pain as he pulled the shirt over his head, and it made contact with the gauges from Emily's nails. He had never had sex like that before, and he could never have imagined sex like that with Emily. Making love would have certainly been a misnomer for last night; it felt closer to hate.

Emily was thinking almost the exact same thing as she showered, the purpling bruises on her arms and soreness between her thighs forcing her thoughts back there, even as she tried to push them away. What were they thinking last night? What demons had possessed their bodies? That wasn't them, at least not the them she remembered. The teased each other, took their time, enjoyed the feel of each other's bodies so close; last night was fast, enraged and anything but loving.

They didn't look at each other as they made coffee, but slipped back into the morning routine they'd come to know so well in L.A. Neither made a move to talk, all morning, even as they collected their guns and phones, tossed on light jackets and headed out the door. And neither chose to question when Matt walked out without his carry-on, they both knew he wouldn't be checking in to the hotel tonight either.

* * *

"Hey Emily, and this must be Agent Flannery from L.A." Mark Bronson greeted his partner and her companion.

"Agent Mark Bronson, Agent Matt Flannery," Emily gestured between them, in a less than stellar introduction.

"Nice to meet you," Matt shook his hand politely.

"Likewise, you worked with Emily before?"

"Uh yeah, for a couple of years…so I've been told Larry Baker is back?"

"Yeah, he was spotted at a diner outside the city two days ago, and at a rest stop further from the city the day before that, so we're pretty sure he's working his way to the city."

"I was told you guys heard he was planning something up here?"

"That's true, his mother's neighbor says she heard her arguing with him on the phone, said the mother told him not to make the same mistake twice, and not to hurt anybody." Mark had been watching the pair closely when they came in, and he watched ever closer now. There was a thick fog of tension surrounding them, and they were obviously avoiding looking at each other. He caught sight of Emily's bruised wrists, and his protective instincts reared, _did this guy do that? Is that why she left L.A.? _

"Alright, why don't you guys show me what you have, maybe we can at least get ready for him," Matt suggested, studying Mark as hard has Mark had studied him. He could tell the other man knew something was up, especially when his gaze lingered on Emily's wrists.

"Sure, let's go to the conference room." Mark smiled. He'd talk with Emily later.

--------

Later came around lunch time, when they came up for air after studying everything both Sacramento and L.A. had collected on the guy, and reliving Matt's negotiation with him. After they'd pointed Matt in the direction of the bathroom, Mark pulled Emily back into the conference room.

"Emily, did he do this?" he asked, lifting her wrists.

"Leave it alone, Mark." She really didn't feel like explaining last night, she barely understood it.

"No, not if he's hurting you," he warned her.

"He's not."

"I don't believe you. Is that why you left L.A., to get away from him?"

"He wasn't abusing me, I swear."

He looked at her doubtfully.

"You aren't going to drop this are you?"

"No, men who beat their wives, girlfriends, whatever, get my blood boiling. I _should_ call the Sacramento PD, and let them take care of him, but I almost want the satisfaction." Emily was surprised by how angry her partner was by what he thought was going on.

"Okay, first please just calm down a minute. There's no need to call the police. Matt never hurt me, not physically anyway. We were dating while I was in L.A., it didn't end well. We said everything we could think of to hurt each other, that is why I left. I was hurt and angry," she explained, praying he would calm down.

"Then where did these bruises come from?" he demanded.

"Rough sex, Mark. That's it."

"Did he force you?" He asked, clearly troubled by the thought.

"Of course not! Matt would never do that!" She hissed at him, appalled that he'd ever consider that possibility.

"Relax, I was just making sure. You can't really blame me, Emily; he's here less than a day, and you come in with bruises. What am I supposed to think?"

"I don't know, but god Mark, not that. You might have considered giving him the benefit of a doubt though, before jumping to conclusions," she suggested, still clearly upset by the implication.

"Alright, I'm sorry…did you say it ended badly between you?" He asked, a thought suddenly popping into his head.

"Yes, we waged World War III all by ourselves, why?"

"He was here for what three hours before you slept with him?" He asked, making a clear judgment.

"Not you business, Mark." She was even angrier now.

"Why did you defend him so quickly?"

"What do you mean? You all but accused him of abusing and raping me, why wouldn't I defend him?" Now she was confused as well as rapidly loosing her patience with her partner's little inquisition.

Mark studied her for a moment before asking quietly, "You're still in love with him, aren't you?"

Emily said nothing, just glared at him before turning and walking out the conference room door. Mark had no right to attack Matt the way he did, regardless of whether or not she was still in love with him. Or at least that is what Emily kept telling herself. She was furious he dragged her in there and interrogated her on her personal life. He was her work partner, not even really a friend. Emily had made sure to avoid becoming personally involved with her coworkers as soon as she arrived in Sacramento. Not only had it hurt to leave Matt, but it hurt to leave the rest of the people she'd become close to.

"Oh, thank God!" Matt proclaimed upon landing back in the CNU and seeing Emily.

"Everything alright?" She asked curiously.

"I got lost," he told her sheepishly, turning toward the floor.

Emily struggled not to smile at him; that was so…Matt. She also tried not to think about what Mark had called her on.

"Hey? You okay?" Matt asked seeing her face suddenly change to a sullen expression.

"Yeah, fine…just tired," she didn't quite lie.

"Right, makes sense," Matt commented awkwardly. There it was, one little string of words to trigger memories of the night before, and remind them that they hadn't magically stepped back three years. Too bad, they had been 'them' for that brief exchange; it came so easily. Now they clammed up and turned away from each other again, resuming their awkward hostility for the rest of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

That night Emily didn't hesitate driving straight home, there was no pause to consider a hotel for Matt, no comments that he'd forgotten his back. She did however stop for pizza, ordering even before she'd gone out the door of the CNU. She still knew how he liked his pizza, and the compromise they'd made over a dozen times in the past. He didn't like mushrooms, and she didn't like peppers, so neither went on their pizzas.

Matt didn't let his mind wander too far during the car ride, which was mercifully slow; Emily had evidently unleashed all of her hostility last night. Not that he hadn't. He struggled to force his mind elsewhere as Emily pulled the car into her parking space, and they walked into her building, neither uttering a word. Part of him felt the familiarity of the circumstances and wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, but the other part knew that wasn't going to happen.

Emily tossed her keys on the counter, grabbed two beers from the fridge, and went over to the couch, where Matt sat with the pizza. Somehow they'd done this same thing so many times, but at the same time, they'd never done it at all. She remembered all the times they'd shared take out (as numerous as those were), and it was never like this. They talked and laughed, and typically sat much closer to each other. Now they were silent, tense, and glued to the armrests on opposite ends of the couch.

An hour later, they'd eaten most of the pizza, made another beer run, and zoned out watching some cop show. All that was left was one of the most awkward conversations two people could ever have. The problem was that neither seemed to want to start it, and really, when it came down to it, neither really knew what to say. After you've said every horrible and hurtful thing you can think of to someone, and then slept with them after a year of not seeing them…words just don't come so easy.

"Listen, I-" Matt cut himself off, not quite sure what to say.

"We need to talk," Emily offered, hoping to facilitate conversation.

"Yeah, we do." Matt spoke bluntly, trailing off as they lapsed into another uncomfortable silence.

"Do you ever wish you could go back a year, and duct tape your mouth closed?" Emily asked quietly, finally admitting what she'd felt since they'd broken up.

"Oh yeah, all the time."

"What the hell happened that day, Matt?"

"God, I wish I knew, Em. I've never wanted to hurt you, but that day…I just don't know why it got as bad as it did," he told her tiredly.

"You were happy with us before that, weren't you?"

"Very, weren't you?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm just trying to figure out what set us off so hard."

"You mean other than the Texas-sized guilt trip we went on the second those hostages died?"

"I realize that, but normal people wouldn't have lashed out so badly against it each other. It was more than that, at least for me it was." She said softly, glancing at her lap.

He just watched her worry her cuticles, waiting for her to elaborate her last statement.

"We were both pissed I know that, but it shouldn't have been at each other," he supplied when she didn't speak.

"In psychology we call it asserting a defense mechanism," she suddenly said slowly, as if trying to wrap her head around her own thoughts. "We knew that when OPR found out about us, they would send one of us to the other side of the country, so instead of dealing with it, we attacked each other. Because, if we got angry enough, hurt each other enough, convinced ourselves that what we had really wasn't worth very much, it wouldn't hurt when it ended. Am I wrong?"

She looked back at Matt, who continued to stare off in silence for several moments. Emily's gaze had just drifted back to her hands when she heard quiet almost mocking laughter, and turned abruptly back to Matt to see him shaking his head sadly.

"We did OPR's work for them," he said, amused in a slightly deranged sort of way.

"Yeah, we're the ideal agents," Emily joined him laughing lightly at the irony in their past behavior.

After several minutes of this innocent release, the pair quieted down slowly, once again staring off into space, both wondering what came next. Matt was the one to actually ask the question.

"So…what do we do now?"

"I'm sor-" Emily turned to him quickly, and went to apologize for everything she'd said a year ago, but Matt cut her off before she got the chance.

"No. No apologies. We know we sure as hell meant what we said at the time, we wouldn't have said it otherwise. Apologies will mean nothing now, and we both already admitted we wished we'd never said any of it."

She nodded, agreeing, "Then where does that leave us? Starting over?"

"Do you think we could?" He asked, not daring to hope it was possible.

"More importantly, is it in our best interest to try?" Emily wondered aloud.

"I don't know Em. For once, I just really don't know what to do here," Matt's whispered words sounded as if they'd been spoken by a lost little boy.

"This year has been really hard, Matt. If it fell apart again…I just don't know if I'd want to bother picking up my half of the pieces," she said, her voice heavy with unshed tears.

Matt suddenly turned to her, his eyes shinning with an unexpected epiphany, "Then we do let it fall apart."

"What?" She turned to him, face set in stunned incredulity.

"Do you think it would even be possible for us to start over?" He asked, excitement lacing his voice, and bringing his features alive.

"Well, yes, sure, but where are you going with this?"

"We don't let it fall apart Em. It's that damn simple."

"Okay, either I'm getting slower, or you make no sense, and I'm inclined to go with the latter."

"Listen, don't you hear older people whining about the divorce rate all the time and saying stuff like, 'these kids today just don't work at it'?"

"Yes, I suppose, but Matt their idea of working at it was faking happiness and praying," she answered, still not quite believing what she was hearing.

"I'm not talking about pretending we aren't miserable or bored twenty years down the line, I'm talking about not giving up so easy. I mean, we didn't even try to reconcile after that fight, we just quit and ran."

"So the next time we feel scared, pissed and guilty, and take it out on each other, we should do what?"

"Well, ideally we wouldn't take it out on each other, would we?" Their banter was coming back to life, and inflating energy in both of them.

"Are you really looking to hit the ideal?"

"Ugh, you know what I mean," he said annoyed.

"Okay, saying I do, what should we have done instead of running away from each other?"

"Actually, I think that wild sex thing worked pretty well, should have just done it sooner," he said with a cocky grin.

"I thought you were the one that wanted to be serious?" She challenged, struggling not to smile.

"Alright, alright. Instead we should have taken a night to cool off, and then talked. That's what people in relationships do, right?"

She nodded, accepting his logic, growing quiet as she considered what they were discussing. Did she really want to go here again?

"So, do we want to try this again?" Matt asked hopefully, though part of him was wondering how much of this was his head, rather than his libido.

"You'll be here for another few days, let's see how it goes…" She trailed off her mind lost in a swirl of nervous, excited, and apprehensive thoughts.

Matt nodded, as unsure as she was, but unsurprised at her logically reasoning; Emily was always good for that. They would take it slow, and maybe, they wouldn't end up as miserable as they had been before he landed in Sacramento.

Emily yawned suddenly, her eased mind reminding her she hadn't gotten much sleep last night. "Now that we've resolved that, I think it's time to sleep."

"Yeah, sounds good," Matt answered before he caught her yawn, and his mouth stretched in a display of exhaustion.

Emily rose and went to brush her teeth, enjoying the feeling of a tension free apartment. Once she finished, she left the bathroom to Matt, and went to check the locks and shut off the lights. When she saw him heading to her guest room, she stopped him, looking at him curiously.

"You know you don't have to sleep in there, right?"

"I know, but…" he paused, trying to find the words he needed, "it would be too easy to just go back to what we were. I don't want to fall back, I want to start over, and I want to do it the right way this time. I want to take you to dinner tomorrow."

"What, you want to court me?" she asked, enunciating 'court', clearly amused at the idea.

"Yes, I suppose if you need to put it in such archaic terms, I want to court you," he told her, offering a chivalrous smile.

"Oh, okay…" she wasn't quite sure what to think of this.

"Why so surprised?"

"Well, isn't the courting thing just a precursor to sex? And we've already done that," she said with a shrug.

"If you're a frat boy or Hugh Hefner maybe. And, we're starting fresh remember?"

"Are we also pretending we're virgins?" She asked sarcastically, trying to mask her own insecurity about starting over.

"Listen Em, most people don't get a second chance at this. I don't want to blow our second chance, I want to do this right, I can't lose you again," He told her, his eyes burning into hers.

She put a hand up to his face, studying his eyes and finding nothing but raw honesty. On an impulse she leaned in and kissed him, leaning closer when he responded. As their arms encircled each other, and hands began finding familiar places, the kiss started to get more heated, until Matt broke it off.

"Sorry," Emily mumbled trying to catch her breath.

Matt nodded, also breathing deeply.

"We should get to bed," She told him, not moving toward her door.

"You expect me to be able to sleep after that?"

"Hey, I offered!" She laughed.

Matt shook his head, "I mean what I said."

"I know," she answered, biting her lip nervously. After a few moments she turned and opened the door to her bedroom, as Matt followed with the guest room, stopping suddenly.

"Hey, Em?" He turned back toward her.

She turned toward him, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Don't argue with me over the check tomorrow," he grinned.

"Fine," she smiled turning back and heading into her room, calling, "But, I get to pay the next time!"

Matt laughed to himself, as he walked into his bedroom. His decision to try this no sex thing had been one of spontaneity, but he was being honest when he said he wanted to start over and do it right this time. He wasn't going to lose her again.

* * *

Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I crazily decided to try writing four stories simultaneously. Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	4. Chapter 4

The next day the pair were exceptionally nervous about their second first date, and had spent the entire work day alternately sneaking glances at each other and staring off into space. They had learned nothing further about Larry Baker and his plans to hit Sacramento, and weren't entirely disappointed. As much as they would have liked to lock him back up in prison, it would be nice if no innocent people had to be scared half to death to get it accomplished. Needless to say the day had been quiet, and after a tensionless ride back to Emily's apartment, the pair started getting ready for their big date. After a shower and a change, Matt snagged Emily's car keys and told her he'd be back in half an hour to pick her up.

Now Emily was rushing around her apartment, searching desperately for her favorite earnings. Where had she put them? Of course they weren't in her jewelry box where they should have been, why would they be there? No, she took them off, and put them…where? Sighing in annoyance, Emily was about to give up searching when she suddenly remembered what she'd been doing the last time she saw them. The bedroom, they had to be in her bedroom. Throwing her hands up in frantic frustration, Emily tore over to her bedroom, ripping apart the draw in her night table, until she found the tiny earnings.

That settled, she had five more minutes to brush her teeth and finish her make-up before Matt arrived. This wouldn't be so difficult if she wasn't so damned nervous about going out with him. She wasn't sure if it was the actual date making her nervous, or more Matt's determination that this was real, that he wanted it to be for forever. Truth be told, both were making her head spin, and her heart beat like she was running a marathon. These nerves became especially problematic when her anxious hands fumbled her toothbrush and it went flying into the toilet. _Fabulous._

Grunting she finished it out and tossed it into the trash can, resigned to using a finger for the moment. Anybody whose brushed their teeth with a finger knows that it's less for the fact that it might work and more to ease your mind that you have a moderately clean mouth. Just to be sure she gargled some mouthwash, rinsing the burning Listerine out of her mouth with cool tap water. Now to finish make-up… Her hands managed to stay steady enough to apply her mascara and eye shadow, but a glance at the ticking clock made lipstick a bit more of a challenge. Finally, tossing a few things in her purse, she started to pull her stiletto books on just as she heard a knock on the door.

"Hang on a minute Matt!" She called, desperately yanking the shoe on her left foot, before grabbing her purse and tearing off to answer the door.

"Hi," she greeted him, her breathing a little strained.

"Hey, you okay?" He gave her a skeptical look, a quick peck, and a bouquet of roses and lilies. It became clear why'd he'd borrowed her car.

"Yeah, I was just trying to get my shoes on when you knocked. Thank you, you didn't have to get me flowers," she told him, admiring his thoughtfulness.

Matt shrugged as if to as it was nothing, but she got the strangest vibe that he may have been a bit nervous about this too.

"Let me just get these in some water and we can go." _Because that wasn't awkward, not at all._

Half an hour later they were seated at Samsara, a casual restaurant that had the atmosphere of a lounge, and a menu that seemed better placed in a Manhattan hotspot. Emily half-expected fajitas again, but evidently Matt was very intent on that fresh start. Things had somehow become less awkward inside, but this was likely only because they'd both adopted their first date behavior. This is the behavior people constantly adopt on first dates, smiling, laughing, trying to conceal flaws, and in the process often concealing themselves. Problem with this, aside from the obvious, was that they already knew everything about each other, and sure as hell knew that the other was faking.

"Okay, this is ridiculous. Can we just drop the fronts and talk?" Emily asked desperately.

"Oh, thank god, that was terrible," Matt commiserated, leaning back and sighing in relief.

"So, tell how things are in L.A."

"Uh, the usual I guess. Frank still loves his guns and bombs, Lia still gossips more than anybody I know, and is still dating Duff, by the way. Duff is getting as trigger happy as Frank, and they still drive Cheryl crazy with their stooge routine."

Emily smiled at that, "how is Cheryl?"

"Engaged to Jake actually, about a month ago."

"Really? That's great, did they set a date?"

"No, not yet. She's being very low key about the whole thing, I think she's still trying to process the idea."

"I bet she barely talks about it, right? Emily guessed.

"Yeah, she's pretty quite about it. You should have heard Lia shriek when she saw the ring though, she started babbling about dresses and cakes, and scared the shit out of Duff."

Emily began laughing at the image, "I would have paid to see that."

Matt let his hand drift over and rest on hers, his thumb gently brushing back and forth over her soft skin. They had gradually begun to lean in toward each other as they talked, and wore smiles, only slightly tinged by nerves. Emily intertwined her fingers in his, enjoying the familiar feel of his hand in hers. They spent another two hours at the restaurant, talking about everything and anything. When it came time for the check, Emily didn't grab for a purse, as instinct would have her do, she allowed Matt to pay, much to his relief.

After walking out of Samsara, Emily declared she was driving, and playfully grabbed the keys he'd somehow had possession of all night. When she didn't make the turn for her apartment, Matt looked at her curiously, wondering what she was planning.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," she told him grinning.

"I don't get to know?" he asked, perfectly content to let her take him wherever she wanted to go.

"Nope, not yet." Instead of responding verbally, Matt grabbed her hand, tangling their fingers together again, as he stared at the windshield, wondering how he'd gone over a year without this.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of a cemetery in the middle of the historic section of the city. Matt expected Emily to check a map or something, but she turned off the car, yanked the keys out of the ignition, and shot him a smile before exiting the car.

"Uh, a cemetery Em? Should I be worried?" He asked, eyeing her wearily.

"Relax, come here," she held out her hand, and led him through the gate, weaving her way down the paths.

"So, you've been here a lot then?" He watched her, noting how she seemed to know her way around easily.

"You sound worried, Matt," Emily was enjoying teasing him.

"No, not worried, just mindful," he grinned at her.

"Right, I forgot, you're never scared, you're mindful."

"Exactly…oh…" They had arrived at their destination, the historic rose garden that sat in the middle of the cemetery.

They first walked through a of dense leaves and small pink blooms, entering to find a seeming paradise of flowers. Scattered lamps lit the garden so they could see the blooms even in the darkened night. The garden had small stone monuments here and there, and a large stone mausoleum off to one side. There must have been several dozen varieties of roses, and even a few rose hips. Several shades of pink, purple, yellow, white, some actually resembled modern roses, but others were closer to wild roses.

"Damn, that's a lot of flowers," Matt commented as he turned in a circle, trying to take in everything.

"I discovered this the third day I was here. I had done as much moving as I was going to do for the day, and just needed to get out."

Matt nodded absently, still trying to take in the sight surrounding him, L.A. certainly didn't have anything like this.

"What are you thinking?" Emily asked him, pleased that he seemed to be enjoying the view.

He turned to her with a teasing grin, "You don't want to know."

"You can't really tell me you're thinking about sex while surrounded by heaps of roses and dead people?" She challenged.

"You got me. No, I was thinking that I bouquet I could ever get you would be horribly inadequate."

Emily laughed at him, and wrapped her arms around his waist, deliriously happy and terrified at the same time. What if this didn't last?

Matt reciprocated the gesture, making the next move as he leaned in for a kiss. It may have seemed a small thing after the other night, but it this was their first kiss of their second chance. They leaned together for a moment, until Matt stepped away to the nearest plant, and went to pick a rose. Just as his hand touched the stem below the yellow bloom, he heard a throat clear in annoyance behind.

He turned to see a very large security guard giving him a stern glare, and fingering the night stick on his belt. Matt quickly backed away from the flower.

"Uh, sorry man," he mumbled as Emily giggled next to him. He quickly steered them away from the hulk guarding the helpless flowers.

"What are you laughing at?" he demanded, watching her crack up beside him.

"You're not supposed to pick the flowers, Matt."

"Yeah, I gathered that after the terminator glared at me."

"Awe, it was a sweet gesture though," she told him, rubbing his shoulder.

"They're flowers, they are supposed to be picked," he insisted.

"Well, this garden is more of a museum, no touching," she shrugged and planted a kiss on him.

He smiled inches from her face, "You ready to go home?"

"Oh, definitely," she answered, kissing him again.

The two slowly made their way out of the rose garden, walking back along the path that winded through the tombstones. They broke apart when it came time to get into the car, but their hands soon found each other once they'd gotten in. Both were much more relaxed on the way home than they had been all day; this had been the best date either had been on since they broke up.

Once back inside Emily's apartment, the two were practically fused together as the moved toward the bedroom, hands roaming, and their once innocent kiss growing much more passionate. They'd gotten to the door of Emily's bedroom, when Matt pulled back, leaving them both breathing heavily, still only inches apart.

"No," he told her breathless, "I want to do this right."

"Matt, the courting thing is sweet, but it's not necessary," she assured him, entangling her fingers in his hair, as she went to bring him back to her.

"I've never gone to bed on a first date with a woman I really respected and wanted to have something with, it doesn't feel right," he explained.

"And what about when we first started?"

"I certainly respected you, but it was casual, neither of us expected anything to come out of it."

"Well, technically this isn't our first date," she argued.

"We're starting over, fresh, remember?"

"Yes, I do, and I appreciate the sentiment, but I really don't care," she told him.

As soon as she said them, she saw the hurt look pass across Matt's face and immediately went to clarify and say what she should have said.

"Sorry, that didn't mean what it sounded like. I care, I want this to work as much as you do, and I would give anything to have what we had back. But, I don't need to be courted, I already know I love you," she paused to let that sink in.

Matt's stunned expression was proof that he most definitely didn't expect that to come from her mouth.

"Yeah, I loved you back then too, I was just too damn scared to say it. And, it's clear after all this time, nothing is going to change that, including if I sleep with you tonight or wait next week. Only that I might be a little cranky by next week," she gave him a half smile.

It then became Emily's turn to be surprised, when Matt swept her up into his arms, holding her tightly for several moments. Part of him had been terrified that, that wouldn't be the case. They had never said it back then, almost in Mexico, but not really, and he wondered if they would ever get there now. She's eased half the fears in his mind, and also stirred up a few news ones.

They had so much history between them, they would never be able to start back at square one. Just because you try to pretend everything is in the past, doesn't mean it is, so they would never again be that first-date couple, not really. But, that didn't mean they couldn't start over. They just had to start a little further down the road, and that deep history between them, that could help them too. Emily's proclamation was proof of that, and now Matt uttered his own.

"I love you too, Em."

Emily didn't speak, only initiated another kiss, as she directed them both into the bedroom, now clearly on the same page.

* * *

_First, the garden is loosely based on the Old City Rose Garden in Sacremento, which I've never been to, hence the loosely. Second, Samsara, to my knowledge doesn't exist; I ripped the name from a perfume. Third, in case any of you may be wondering, the story isn't quite done yet. And finally, thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	5. Chapter 5

Matt ran a hand through his hair, as he stood in the doorway of the bedroom, watching Emily sleep. He was stunned he hadn't woken her up as he dressed and gathered his things to leave. He'd had his suitcase pretty much packed last night in anticipation of this very moment, knowing it would be easier (yes, and more cowardly) to leave without waking her. Matt knew she might be upset, knew they still had to talk about their current relationship whatever it was at this point. But, part of him was frightened that she might just say their brief fantasyland was disappearing, and with it this rekindling.

They gone through the week in a blissful haze, enjoying being together again after so long. After their 'I love yous' earlier in the week, they taken everything else slow, determined not to push each other too fast. They'd talked constantly, at first about what they'd missed with each other the past year, and then about everything they'd never bothered to learn about each other.

Matt was not only 'aware' of dogs, but being anywhere near a coffin put him into a perpetual cycle of tapping his fingers on his thighs, forcing breath in and out of his lungs, and torrents of sweat pouring off him. Emily also didn't talk often with her family, something Matt had already known. What she'd never told him was that it was due to the Russia-sized elephant in the room that was her younger sister, who had been institutionalized when she was 12, and still was.

It wasn't so much that any of this, or anything else they discussed was entirely intentionally withheld; they just never got around to it. They were both very guarded about their families, in whatever sense these blood relatives fit that description, and were used to responding with shrugs or dodging questions all together. It wasn't terribly difficult to figure out where Matt's fear of coffins came from, and Emily's parents drilled into her head that her sister's existence was taboo. It was natural that they never discussed either topic before; sometimes things just don't come up.

But, as Matt watched her sleep now, he wished they had more time so he could learn the volumes of her he hadn't even touched. Instead, he walked over to where her head lay, taking care to keep his footsteps light and silent. He left a folded sheet of paper on the night table, and placed a feather-light kiss on her cheek. His explanation was in that note. Matt forced himself out of the bedroom, not looking back in fear that he might never make it out the door.

He caught a cab to the airport, and grasping his carry-on, he handed his ticket over to the woman at the counter, less than thrilled at the prospect of leaving.

"Hello Mr. Flannery," said the blonde woman, whose tag read Casey, "Already returning to L.A. then?"

"Yep, just visiting Sacramento."

"Well, I hope you enjoyed your trip," she smiled and handed him back his ticket, while pointing him toward the gate.

Matt settled into one of the hideous green plastic chairs lined up, to wait for his flight to be called. It was then that the events of the past week seemed to suddenly hit him like a sack of bricks.

* * *

Emily could sense something was off as body began to wake, and her mind adjusted to this new state. She blinked at room, and pulled herself up, feeling even before she saw that that the other side of the bed was empty. She was about to crawl out the bed and search for Matt when she caught sight of the folded paper on her dresser. _Oh, he did not do that._

Instinct already telling her that drop a note and take off was exactly what he did, Emily reached for the paper. Her fingers barely brushed it, when she decided she needed a heavy dose of coffee before she had to analyze whatever he'd written in that note. Shaking her head in annoyance, she stumbled out of bed and made a beeline for the coffee maker, delighted to find that at least Matt had left her coffee.

After adding creamer to a steaming mug, she went back to the bedroom, mentally preparing herself for what she might find. She set the black mug on the night table, and picked up the note, slowly pulling it open, her fear determined to delay her.

_Em,_

_I know we haven't really discussed our plans for when I left, but I had _

_a plane to catch, and never would have made it if I woke you. _

_Love, Matt_

That's it? That's all he writes before he takes off for L.A.? Was he serious with this? Did he not expect a thorough ass-kicking for this the next time he saw her? Emily shook her head, he didn't want to address their changed relationship, so his solution was taking off. She had been under the impression they were done with these games; she'd thought all the talking had pushed them past the freaked-out mind games.

They spent hours together just getting to know each other again, even better than they had before with no holds. Matt now knew about her sister; Emily needed less than a hand to count the number of people outside her immediate family that new about Maggie. Matt had talked about his mother, really talked about her, and the fallout in his family as a result of her death. He avoided speaking about anything related to her at all costs, but he had talked to her only days ago about her. Was she wrong in thinking they were doing so good together?

She knew he had a flight today, but she'd expected him to wake her to say goodbye at the very least. They'd finally caught Larry Baker yesterday, just before he took off to choose his hostages, armed with a gun that would make Frank jealous. Matt called Cheryl to tell her the good news, and she arranged for his return flight for the next morning. It was a Saturday, but she figured he would want get out of Sacramento as soon as humanly possible. Matt hadn't argued, not wanting to reveal their relationship before discussing it, just told Cheryl he'd see her Monday.

It was a Saturday, she didn't have to be at work, she wasn't even on call, she could have gone with him to the airport. Staring angrily at the note, Emily made a decision right there and then. If they were going to do this right, as he claimed he wanted so badly, then they were going to stop running. They were going to stop the games that couples played when they were unsure of each other.

Emily grabbed her overnight bag, and began throwing some clothes and personal effects in it. After showering, changing and applying her make-up, she through in her cosmetic bag, tossed her phone back in her purse, grabbed her keys, and went to catch the next flight to L.A. A phone call just wouldn't do under the circumstances. No, she had to make him see, make him understand that she was just as serious as he was about this.

* * *

Matt pulled his soaked t-shirt over his head, before diving back under his sink with a wrench in his hand. He wasn't sure how long he'd left it leaking for, but there was no better time to screw around with his piping, and attempt to pretend he knew something about being a handyman. He needed a distraction badly, and this puzzle, wet and gross as it was (god only knew what had been suck in those pipes over the last few decades) was the perfect.

He'd just managed to twist the fastener shut after soaking himself again, when he heard a distinctly impatient knock on his door. Great. Pulling himself back out, and dropping the wrench, he didn't even bother trying to dry himself off, before heading toward the door. It was probably just Cheryl or Frank, or maybe even Lia, checking to make sure he'd returned with no new or newly opened scars from his trip. He did not expect Emily.

She was about to let him have it when the door started opening, but then she got an eyeful of the slick, naked chest. That she had not anticipated, and she couldn't help but enjoy the view for a few moments. He had on jeans and nothing else, was half soaked and sweaty, and his hair was sticking in dozen different directions. That was just…mmm, so nice. Emily shook herself after a moment, determined not to let his appearance derail her intentions.

"A note, seriously, Matt?" She demanded, looking at him pointedly.

"Hey, uh, why don't you come in," Matt offered awkwardly.

After entering and waiting in silence for him to answer her, Emily tried again, "so, would you like explain the note?"

"Uh…maybe I should change first," he said, suddenly remembering his messy state.

"Don't," she stopped him, as he went to leave the room, grinning she told him "I'm enjoying the view."

Matt felt himself blush slightly at that. He didn't tend to blush easily, hardly ever in fact, but her pleased gaze would have made any man flush.

"So, one more time, the note, explain, now."

"Right, uh, I didn't want to wake you."

"Liar, you were just scared, weren't you?"

Matt breathed in a moment, before releasing it and answering, "Yes. We never discussed what happens after I come back here, and I didn't want to have to face the end of what we have."

"Didn't we discuss the whole talking to each other thing? Isn't that what we've been doing for a week?"

"It isn't that easy, when that's exactly afraid of what I was doing."

"What? Wait, you thought I would want to end this?"

"I don't know, but I know I don't, and, and it was easier just not knowing," Matt struggled to explain himself.

Emily was silent a minute, studying him, at the sight of his vulnerability her anger seemed to be melting away. "Alright, so let's discuss this now."

"Okay, do we want to try this long distance?" He suggested.

"Yeah, I'm only on call two weekends a month, so I can come to L.A. in two weeks."

"Cheryl's got me on two a month also, we can trade off weekends."

"And phone calls the rest of the time?"

"Sounds good, phone calls." Matt was nodding his head in the way people do when they're agreeing to something they aren't very happy with, but see little alternative to.

"We're really going to rack up the frequent flyer miles," Emily commented, nodding similarly and biting her lip.

"We're going to have to get used to phone sex," Matt blurted out.

Emily looked at him surprised a minute before bursting out laughing, trust Matt to immediately jump to sex.

"What?" he asked looking at her and wrapping an arm around her waist, bringing her close, "I prefer when I can touch you."

"Mmmm, I agree," she answered kissing him. It had been a short conversation, but both had been thinking about the issue for days before, and had a pretty good idea of how it had to work. Now that it was out there though, they both felt more secure.

* * *

I know this hs kind of done a 180 from what I started it as, but we all enjoy happy, fluff don't we? Anyway, this one is almost done, probably one more chapter and an epilogue, which I'll try to post together. Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	6. Chapter 6

Emily had spent the remainder of the weekend in L.A., eager not to lose a second of time before they actually had to start this long distance relationship thing. Neither knew if it would work, but to not even try just wasn't an option for them. Perhaps that was why on the following Friday Matt was sitting in his apartment staring at the wall, not sure what do with himself. Actually, truth be told, he knew exactly what he wanted to be doing at that moment, but he couldn't, Emily was on-call in Sacramento she couldn't fly down to see him.

He grabbed his remote and began flipping the channels of his TV, tuning into an NBC game show long enough to tell Bob Saget wasn't pleased with his current gig, before flipping the Jennifer Love Hewitt's sad charcoal circled eyes and generous cleavage. Not interested in this either, he switched to cable channels, only to be equally displeased, before giving up, and turning instead to the kitchen. Beer, lettuce, pickles, mustard, chicken that should have been tossed two weeks ago, an now unidentifiable piece of fruit, and milk. How appetizing.

Frustrated and anxious, he grabbed a beer, popped it open and took down half of it. Then he wandered toward his bedroom to find a book or a magazine or porn, or anything to distract himself with. He shouldn't have turned down Frank and Duff's invitation to join them for paintball and Sloan's. It wasn't even conscious at the time, he'd just assumed he'd see Emily, forgetting she wasn't coming to L.A. Now he was bored out of his skull, anxious just thinking about her and that fact that she was several hundred miles away.

He wasn't even on-call this weekend, so he wouldn't even have the chance of work to keep himself busy. Suddenly that thought made him stop. Why hadn't he thought of that? How had he missed that so completely? Dropping the Maxim he'd been flipping through, he immediately ran to his closest and grabbed a few items of clothing out, before continuing to run around his bedroom and bathroom grabbing things here and there. After twenty minutes of this, he was shutting off his lights, locking his door, and jumping into his car.

* * *

Five hours after Matt's happy little epiphany, Emily was pulling her car exhaustedly into her parking space. She stretched and yawned as she grabbed her bag, and pulled herself out of the car. She'd been working all day, because some moron decided to hold a jewelry store full of people hostage at noon. This moron felt the need to spend the rest of the day talking in her ear about every little problem he's had since he'd been potty trained, only shutting his mouth an hour ago.

If he hadn't, she might have grabbed a gun from HRT and put a bullet in him. Never in her life had Emily had a more annoying HT, or maybe a better word was obnoxious. He'd taken the whole idea of playing the victim to the next level, having convinced himself that none of his numerous issues were his own fault, which they all were. Emily shook herself, trying to get the aggravation out of her system as she trudged into her apartment. When a car didn't come, she viciously stabbed the button several times more than she really needed to.

The elevator was broken again. Rolling her eyes heavenward and cursing creatively under her breath, Emily stomped over to the elevator, more aggravated than she had been. Grudgingly she dragged herself up the five floors to her apartment, shoved the door open with at least four times the force than she really needed. She nearly vocalized her frustration in some highly colorful language, when she caught site of someone slumped over by her apartment door.

What the hell was this? Did someone let a bum in? He had better move if he knew what was good for him. Emily stopped suddenly when she got close enough to recognize the man passed out against her door. Matt was passed out against her door, dead to the world, a bag by his side. How long had he been there waiting for her? Once again having to shake her head clear, Emily finished her journey down the hall, and bending down nudged him gently.

"Hey, Matt."

"Huh? What?" Matt jerked awake suddenly.

"Relax," she told him, giving him a minute to adjust, "how long have you been waiting here?"

"I don't know," he said looking around, "plane got in at ten after eight, what time is it?"

"Wait, you've been sitting here since eight-thirty then?" She asked incredulously.

"Guess so," he said confused. "Why? What time is it?"

"Well after twelve."

"Oh, uh, I guess I feel asleep," he answered lamely.

Emily helped him off the floor, while maintaining an amused smile that did not go unnoticed by Matt.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Do you realize how cute you are right now?"

Matt looked mildly embarrassed at that, at least until she kissed him, then he wasn't so annoyed at himself for falling asleep.

"I have been waiting all week for that," he breathed.

"You're telling me."

* * *

**Five months later**

"I don't want you to go back to Sacramento tonight." Matt whispered softly, his face pressed close to Emily's, pulling her closer, her soft skin brushing against his.

"Me neither. I'm tired of the planes every weekend," she confessed, tightening her grip around his waist, and nestling closer into his chest.

They had been taking turns flying to see each other every weekend, instead of every other as they had originally planned. It had worked out surprisingly well for them, as the days they were on call fell on opposite weekends. That meant that whoever wasn't on call would fly to whoever was, and they'd spend the weekend in that city. Except for two weekends they'd been sent on field assignments, they were regulars at the airports.

And, the last five months had been amazing for them. They had learned to talk to each other, really communicate what they were feeling. Which, honestly, had been no small feat for two incredibly independent and stubborn people as themselves. More importantly, they done what they had set out to do, and what they both feared they couldn't. They'd become lovers and companions without being partners.

"Then move in with me," Matt blurted out.

"What?" She said quickly, turning to him in awe.

"Come back to L.A., move in with me," he repeated.

"Do you think we're ready to do that?"

"After five months of rushing to make flights? Don't you?"

"The only thing I know for certain is that I want to wake up with you on more than just weekends," she told him smiling.

"Then you want to do it?"

Emily was silent a moment, then turned to him with a mischievous grin, "Why do I have to move, why don't you move in with me?"

"Oh, come on, you know you miss everyone in L.A."

"You're right, Frank and Duff are really who I've been missing," she teased him.

"Hey!" He admonished playing along. Yes, he wanted more of this, more than weekends could give.

"You realize we're going to have to talk to Cheryl if I want my job back."

"We already told her we were sleeping together once, and it didn't go so bad."

"Didn't go so bad? Do you remember how pissed she was?"

"She got over it pretty quick, and hey, this time we aren't partners."

"Yeah, we just had a screaming match, didn't speak for over a year, then hooked up again, hid our relationship for five months, and now we're moving in together. She'll take that real well, she might even faint. Lia is going to, you know, before she kills us," Emily listed, gesturing exuberantly with her hands.

Matt began laughing, "So that means you'll come home?"

"Home?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, home is L.A. Home is having you in my bed," Matt said, kissing her neck.

"Oh, just your bed?" She giggled.

"No of course not. Living room, kitchen, hallway, bathroom, especially shower. I love having you in my shower," he continued kissing her.

"Mmmm, the feelings mutual." She brought his mouth to turns, and used her body weight to roll them over, so was on top of him.

"So, we visit Cheryl tomorrow to get your job back?" He deepened this kiss.

"Do you really want to talk about Cheryl right now?" Emily asked, digging her fingers into his hair.

"Good point," he commented, rolling them both over again. Emily's giggle turned into a sharp moan as he found a sensitive spot, and they resumed their earlier activities.

* * *

The Next Day

"I'm not nervous," Emily insisted as they slunk into the CNU at a crazily early hour. They wanted to run into as few people as possible before getting to Cheryl, and at 6:45 in the morning, the only one in was the security guard.

"You are too, you're never this jumpy."

"You're nervous too."

"We're the only two people that know that we're dating, of course I'm nervous," he admitted, smiling.

"Should we just wait in her office?" Emily asked, looking around awkwardly at the place she'd grown so close to, but hadn't set foot in over 18 months.

"Yeah, knowing Cheryl she'll be in soon," Matt answered, placing a hand on her back, and gently guiding her into the room.

Matt was right, they didn't have to wait long; Cheryl was in by quarter after seven, scrambling around for something in her purse. She almost didn't see the people in her office before she opened the door. When she did, she stood curiously looking in the window a moment. Matt was turned slightly toward the door, so she could at least identify one of the people in her office. All she could see of the other person was wavy reddish brown hair that looked strangely familiar.

Cheryl pushed open the door, and stopped dead in her tracks when she finally saw the woman's face. "Emily."

"Hey Cheryl," Emily offered nervously. "Congratulations, Matt told me you're getting married."

"Uh thanks," Cheryl said bluntly, stilled stunned/ After staring at Emily in shock for several minutes, she finally gathered herself and made her way behind her desk. Once again she stared at her two visitors, this time with startling sense of déjà vu.

"So, to what do I owe this…surprise visit?" She asked Emily, not even beginning to fathom Matt's presence.

"Uh, well, I was hoping to move back to L.A. Before I tried to request a transfer I wanted to talk to you."

"You want your job back?"

"Yeah, that's the idea."

"With Matt?" Cheryl was clearly bewildered, and trying desperately to figure out what was going on.

"No, not with Matt, but in the CNU," Emily explained quickly.

"If I remember correctly, when you left the two of you weren't speaking, let alone acting civil toward each other. I really don't need to be refereeing discrepancies between you two."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that, we've worked out our, uh, issues."

"Okay," Cheryl said slowly, turning to Matt, "You never told me it went so well in Sacramento."

"It went well in Sacramento," Matt offered dumbly.

"Very cute, smart-ass," Cheryl bit, unimpressed.

"So, do you have any openings down here?" Emily switched the conversation back.

"For one of the Bureau's top five negotiators? I'll always have room," Cheryl told her, smiling.

"Thanks." Emily was considerably relieved for the moment. Though they did have one other little thing they should tell her, even if Matt had evidently gone mute.

Cheryl broke that subject herself, when she finally caught site of the pairs joined hands, partially concealed in the space between their chairs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on just one minute. What is that?" She demanded pointing to their hands.

"Yeah, we wanted to tell you about that too," Emily explained cringing slightly.

"Tell me about what? What does that mean? Does it mean what I think it means? How long has this? When did this? Why the hell aren't you talking?" She sputtered and stuttered before finally turning to Matt.

"Uh, we started dating again after Sacramento. Emily is coming back to L.A. to move in with me," Matt explained, finally finding his voice.

"That was five months ago! What is it with you two and hiding your relationship?" She demanded.

"We knew that if we told anybody we were dating again it wouldn't be received well, seeing as how badly it ended. We didn't even know if it would go anywhere, it was just easier to keep it to ourselves."

"And you two can promise me that this time there won't be any screaming matches and spontaneous transfer requests?"

"Well, you know we can't really promise any of that," Emily argued. "We don't know what's going to happen, but we're both hoping it lasts."

"I don't know if I like this." Cheryl began shaking her head back and forth, displeased and now very unsure about the situation.

"Then think of it this way. You were ready to invite Emily back when you thought we were just friends, but what if you'd done that and we'd gotten back together anyway? You wouldn't ask her to transfer back to Sacramento then, would you?"

"Are you trying to negotiate with me, Matt?" She asked looking at him sideways.

"Yes, is it working?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Cheryl said sighing.

"Does that mean you'll still except my transfer?"

"How about this, we do a trial period. You file your formal request in Sacramento, and come down here for a week. I get to see you two in the office together, and decide if I'm comfortable with your dynamic. Fair enough?"

Matt and Emily looked at each other and then back at Cheryl and nodded. They were confident that Cheryl would be pleased with what she saw.

"Good, that means you'll be around then, and you can come to my wedding." Cheryl gave Emily a smile, deciding it wasn't necessary to ream her out about not keeping touch, she had a feeling Lia would take care of that.

"Absolutely, I can't wait." Emily was considerably relieved, she thought she would be angry at her for not keeping in touch.

"Now get out of my office and go face the music with everyone else." Cheryl shooed then out, still struggling between disbelief an amusement about the couple's distinctive style of doing things.

They nodded gratefully, before getting up and heading out of the office. Instead of linking their hands again, Matt wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, leaning toward her and whispering something as they left. Emily's laughter was cut short at the site of the filled office, it was a quarter to eight now, and almost everybody had arrived for work.

"What the hell? We in a time warp?" They heard Frank's distinctive bellow.

"Whoa…Lia! Hey Lia, get out here a minute!" Duff called to his girlfriend.

"What are you yelling about Duff, you might get to slack off, but some of us have more demanding bosses- Emily?" She cut herself off, catching sight of her friend.

"Hey everyone," Emily greeted nervously.

"Wait a minute, this isn't the Emily?" Matt's partner Keith approached, addressing Matt.

"Yes, Emily, this is my partner Keith Atwater."

"The same woman that broke your heart and left you moping are here for a year?" he demanded, clearly displeased with Matt.

"Nice to meet you," Emily offered, not sure about the look the man was giving her.

"Man, Matt, tell me you aren't dating her again."

"Actually, I am, have been the last five months," Matt answered, not happy with his partners reaction.

"Five months! Are you serious, you two shack up again for five months and we don't get to know?" Frank demanded.

"Sorry, we wanted to see where it went," Matt shrugged.

"You're an idiot, Matt," Keith announced.

"Excuse me?"

"From what I have heard around this office since I've been here, that relationship was toxic at the end. You two were so good together, but when it ended it was like a damn nuclear winter. Hell, Cheryl still uses the fallout to scare the new recruits away from office relationships. What exactly makes you think in any realm of your imagination that it is going to be different this time?" Keith railed on, he didn't really have anything against Emily, but the moment he'd walked in that office he'd felt the bitter after taste their failed relationship left.

"Keith what exactly is your problem here?" Matt got as loud as Keith had, angry now. They had become pretty good friends over the last year and a half, but this seeming over-protectiveness was uncharacteristic.

Emily just looked at both in shock, was their relationship that infamous? Funny, she didn't remember it being that bad, not until that fight.

"It isn't too often I saw a guy take a break-up as bad as you took that one. If you remember I was one of the three guys drinking with you after you broke up with another one of those godawful women you tried to date to forget about her. I'm not sure what was worse, watching you mope over those women, or knowing that it wasn't really them that you were moping over. Matt, relationships that end that badly, that hurt that much, they usually shouldn't have been started in the first place."

"How about you just keep out of it then?" Matt demanded angrily.

"Alright, stop for a minute!" Emily demanded as she watched them both get more worked up.

Frank, Lia, and Duff were all just watching the exchange, wondering if there was going to be a brawl in the middle of the CNU.

"Before you two start throwing punches, can I just say something?" She asked them.

Neither responded, just watched her expectantly.

"Okay then…so I don't really know you Keith, though you obviously have heard a great deal about me. You didn't get one piece of information in all the gossip and conjecture thrown around this office."

"And what's that?" He asked, a bit rudely.

"I love Matt," she stated bluntly, pausing for a nervous minute, before continuing. "And, not the 'this is going pretty well, I'd like to keep you around' kind of love. I'm talking the dopey, 'finish your sentences, can tell when you're near by, miss you after not seeing you for an hour, and hurts like hell not to be with you'" kind. I don't plan on blowing this second chance, and neither does Matt; can you understand that?"

Matt had moved closer to her as she spoke, and picked up her hand again. Lia had a hand over her mouth, and what could have been tears in her eyes, as she hung off Duff, who along with Frank, was plotting how to tease Matt mercilessly about this later. As for the other two dozen people in the office, if they weren't paying attention before, they certainly were now. How often is it that you get a soap played out live at the FBI?

"What is going on out here?" Cheryl asked surprised as she came out of her office. "I heard yelling before, and suddenly I come out here to crickets? What's going on? Who died?"

Matt, Emily, and Keith turned to her, surprise written on their faces, but none going to open their mouths.

"Oh jesus, don't tell me somebody actually died?" Cheryl asked, sighing.

"No, no one's dead. Matt was just introducing me to Emily," Keith answered, nodding discretely at Emily. Yeah, he could understand that, and he would give them the benefit of a doubt.

"And this introduction took yelling?" Cheryl asked, suspecting they were leaving something out.

The trio shrugged, offering her nothing.

"Well then, that must have been one hell of an introduction."

"You don't know the half of it," Matt mumbled.

"In that case, we have a situation, load up. The Ocean Star Diner out on the highway."

"Right, we're there." Matt and Keith automatically grabbed their things to leave. Matt turned to Emily.

"Uh…"

"I'll hang out here with Lia," she assured him.

"Great, I'll see you later," he told her, kissing her before tearing out after Keith.

Emily walked over to Lia, who was looking at her like the angry friend she was.

"I know, I know, I should have kept in touch. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you should have."

"I'm sorry, I just…look I just professed my love in front of thirty people, can you forgive me for the time being, and I'll grovel later?"

"Fine, I have to work anyway," Lia answered, finally giving her a smile and a hug. "I missed you."

"Yeah, me too. I missed everybody," Emily smiled at the office that would become her home again.

* * *

_Okay, not entirely sure where the diatribes from Matt's partner came from, that's just what came out. I know this one jumped around time wise, but it's either that or a lot of rather uninteresting filler, and I'm also desperate to get this story done (a zillion others waiting an all). I should have a short epilogue done and posted by the end of the week. Thanks as always for reading and especially to the people that reviewed!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Five years down the road**

"So what happened to them?" A young recruit asked eagerly following the story Cheryl was weaving, her cautionary tale about inter-office relationships.

"Those two agents? Well, they now have a house in suburbia, two perfect kids, a cat, and a cherry-stained picket fence."

The class stared at her, confusion written on their faces.

"He's scared of dogs, and she refused to go for the traditional white picket."

"No, it's not that," the same recruit answered. "It's just, doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose you were going for?"

"Not at all. See it may have worked out for them, but it won't get the chance to work out for any of you. If I ever find out that any of you are involved with your coworkers, one of you will immediately be shipped to Oregon where you'll, inbetween bouts of freezing your ass off, investigate the loonies that live on compounds. The other gets sent to the basement, where you'll spend the next decade sorting through old files. Everybody clear?" She asked them this with a sudden smile. A classroom full of heads nodded.

"Good, I'll you see all Thursday." She smiled again and grabbed her binder, checking her watch, she had a dinner party to get to soon.

* * *

An hour later she was ringing the doorbell of an unimposing suburban house, her three year-old son already struggling in his father's arms. He knew tonight he would get to play with his two best friends, and had been impatient for it all day. Suddenly the door flew open, causing him to scramble even harder.

"Hey, come on in. You're the first one's here," Matt announced showing them in, his not quite month-old son asleep on his chest, and three year old daughter excitedly tugging on his shirt.

"Oh, he's so beautiful Matt," Cheryl gushed over Logan, who was tiny as can be, but had full head of dark hair, much like his sister had at birth. Deirdre's hair had become the vibrant reddish brown of her mother by the time she hit two. The devilish little red-head decided at that moment to let go of her father, and grab Jaden's hand, dragging the little boy to her room.

"Thanks, but this little guy is exhausting his mommy," Matt answered kissing his son's head.

Cheryl and Emily had found they were pregnant within weeks of each other, and given birth in a similar time frame; Deirdre was a few weeks older. But Lia and Duff had surprised everyone and beaten them all to the hospital; their daughter, Ella, was four years old now, and had the blondest hair imaginable, still a mystery to both her parents. Lia's hair was more a light brown. Frank had been determined through that two-year period of pregnant women to not settle down, ever. He was still the only one of the group without any kids, but he was on his way down the aisle in only two months.

Matt and Emily, their biology determined not to waist an ounce of time, had their second child before anyone else. Emily had not been pleased when she found out, ranting and raving for two days about how they both knew how to use birth control. Matt had sought refuge at work those two days, staying late and coming in early, much to everyone else's amusement. Of course now, the couple couldn't be more thrilled, though Emily was endlessly exhausted. Which is why, instead of going out, and having everybody struggling to find babysitters, they invited them for a small dinner party. Matt knew Emily would be passed out by nine anyway, midnight feedings and all.

"That's got to be Lia and Duff," Matt said, as he heard a girly shriek just before the doorbell rang. Once again he made his way to the door, inviting them in and exchanging pleasantries, before excusing himself to check on Emily.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked her.

"Well, I'm not wearing spit-up, and there's no playdough caked underneath my fingernails, so wonderful," she answered looking up from what she was doing.

"Now how come he sleeps for you?" She demanded looking at her son.

"He thinks I'm boring." Matt gave her a grin, which she returned. "You about ready, we're only waiting on Frank and Christine."

"Yeah, let's go. Are the kids already in Deirdre's room?"

"Of course. She nearly dislocated Jaden's arm yanking him in there."

The doorbell tolled one last time, but this time Lia went for it, just as Matt and Emily reappeared in the living room.

Frank and Christine had arrived, completing the group, who found their way to the living room to relax and talk before dinner. Emily had barely seen anybody in two months, courtesy of maternity leave, and they were all excited to gush over Logan, who they'd only seen at the hospital.

"So when are you guys going for number three?" Frank asked with a teasing grin.

"Don't even go there," Emily warned, getting chuckles from the group. "Oh, don't even laugh, the rest of you need to catch up first."

"Then Frank and Christine need to get to work, their way behind," Duff commented.

"Oh, no. We borrow yours, right hun?" Frank turned to his fiancé.

"Oh, yeah about that…" she trailed off.

"Whoa, what? Your…?" He asked her struggling to swallow the sudden lump in his throat.

"Kidding Frank, you can breath now," she laughed at him, as the rest joined her.

The group talked for another hour, and then through dinner, and then another hour through coffee. After so many years of being friends, they never ran out of things to say, and if conversation ever lulled, one of their children would pop up and provide entertainment.

Logan had woken up screaming during dinner, demanding his mother feed him, but had otherwise remained quiet. The kids had pretty much entertained themselves all night, with the occasional shrieking giggle emanating from Deirdre's bedroom. However, when Duff and Kevin, Cheryl's husband, went to retrieve their children, they found the trio of troublemakers passed out. This didn't stop them from insisting they were having tons of fun and didn't want to leave.

Finally after everybody had left, and Matt had tucked in Deirdre, he found Emily easing Logan to sleep in the bassinet by their bed. He was fed, burped, changed, and as comfortable as any infant could ever get, just like every night, every night that he insisted on waking up screaming more than sleeping. Emily tucked the blanket snugly around him, bent to kiss him, and then turned to Matt, realizing he was watching her.

"Is Deirdre down?"

"Yep, she was already passed out, all I had to do was ease her under the blankets."

"At least one of them sleeps."

"He will eventually."

"I know, I'm just exhausted. I'm surprised I managed to stay awake as long as I did."

"Yeah me too. Come here," he said, pulling her closer to him in the bed. "Let's hunker down and pray for sleep."

She laughed at him, flicking off the light, before rolling back toward him. Within minutes both were sound asleep.

Forty-seven minutes later, they both jolted awake to the sound of a little banshee screaming in the night. Logan was as usual not sleeping.

"Okay Logan, I got you," Emily cooed with the patience only a mother could have. She picked him and cradled him to her, as she hopped back into the bed, announcing to the baby, "I'm done with all this screaming, you're staying with us tonight."

* * *

_The Jungle has officially come to an end. And being that the baby thing isn't my usual style, consider this a Mother's Day tribute, for the undying patience, love and understanding only a mother can have. Thanks to everybody who read and reviewed! Oh, and thank you to ACM Rocks for the name Ella, I decided it fit Lia and Duff's little girl well. _


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